Did the second stimulus package announced by Najib give enough attention to public transport – or did the discounts offered owners of older vehicles to replace their cars with new Proton and Perodua cars overshadow the public transport component of the package?
Blogger Ong Eu Soon has come up with a proposal to ease congestion on the Penang Bridge, which deserves serious consideration. It involves the use of shuttle buses (or trams?) and park-and-ride facilities. If ferry services are also increased, expanded and upgraded, we could go a long way in easing road congestion in Penang. I hope the Penang state government will seriously consider this. The state government is also considering an earlier suggestion to have a rail link from the mainland to the island. This is worth considering for that would mean folks from JB, KL, and the mainland could enter Penang Island by rail while leaving their cars at home. This would be a great first step in promoting the wider use of public transport in Penang in a bid to create a more sustainable and liveable habitat.
Each day hundred of thousands of Penangites face traffic congestion as they commute to work in their cars via the Penang Bridge. The impact from this congestion is substantial in time, resources, and pollution. The vehicle trips per day are estimated to be 120,000. It is estimated that the Penang Bridge congestion alone cost travelers 328 million hours of delay, 10 million litres of wasted fuel, and minimum RM140 million in toll fees per annum.
For financial and environmental reasons Penang cannot build its way out of congestion. Unfortunately the Penang state government and the federal government are not different when come to deal with mass transit. Mass transit has been ignored for decades. The Penang state government as well as the federal government until today still continues to approach our traffic congestion problem with piece meal solutions instead of developing an overarching strategy that could be use to guide the development of public mass transit; land use and development policies supportive of mass transit are totally absent.
For our transportation system to sustain future growth we must use road space and transit facilities more efficiently and we should not dependent too much on private vehicles. Penang with its limited resources and the land scarcity should use public bus transit in innovative ways to improve mobility. Why public bus transit is the ultimate transportation choice to create a more efficient and resilient public transit system? Full article here.
Some are busy with SMS messages on who is sleeping with which newscasters to have any time to look into public transport woes in Penang / Seberang Jaya… LOL!
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
we must have more a more environmental friendly transport system. Obviously, the stimulus package hasnt given attention at all i can say, to pubilc transport. all it has done is given more room for corporate companies to continue monopolising the markets as they are through bail outs. but this companies will surely die even how much you can bail out. Abuse of Money in the corporate world has detroyed the politics-economy-people link. i really thank you anil for the consciousness, this days, i speak more confidently about the economy though i am not an economist through your awareness anil. At first, i was confused at the rate the economy was not even being able to even write something short of what was wrong. Now i realise, the entire system is the cause of the failure actually.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
and we talk about changing or maybe regenerating and renewing the system through massive bail outs. What goes around comes around. Obviously the people will suffer if this mega companies die as the lay people were conned into quick rich scams by investing a bit in shares or whatsoever into this companies for the benefit of a few individuals actually, but now? I feel the government should bail the people out instead to renew and regenerate the ecoonomy-people-political link to a more clean, moral and culture values rich economy-people-politic world.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
i tell u one secret. and if DAP managed to pull this one off, surely and i am very sure penang will stay theirs for a very long time.
forget about the stimulus. forget about fed government. whether u like it or not, money is not coming fast n thick. especially for those under non BN’s clutches. i want to see the resilience now, which will tackle my heart n my mind when the ballot comes 2013 (?).
get someone to build a monorel or tram system in and going in/out penang. dont care how they gonna do that, but just do it and i tell u BN will never able to recapture penang.
give incentives for people to park their cars and use these systems. for example, going in out penang u may have airbus style transportation which goes across the sea. and then a monorel system which transport people to various areas in penang.
now DAP has to show what its made of. tell guan eng to stop begging for money from the fed. yea maybe u can make them looks bad if they refuse to send u money, but the people will still suffer. people worship them if they can manage this terrible jam once and for all.
this is the chance to nail it.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Right on Ong Eu Soon.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I think a solution for traffic congestion on Penang Bridge which can be implemented immediately without much cost would be to incur a surchange for single-occupant vehicles (SOV) crossing the bridge during rush hours, or the state gov can subsidise a little to reward those who carpool. If every SOV driver now carpools with someone, the traffic would be halved!
It may sound like the wrong time to burden drivers with higher tolls during an economic crisis but this may be the necessary push to force Penangites to actually carpool. Penangites have been too pampered to the point that we may be just too lazy and find arranging for carpooling to be too inconvenient even though we know it saves us money. Notice how traffic suddenly reduced when the
petrol price went up because people started to carpool? That shows Penangites can be made to carpool given the right forces.
Like what Eu Soon said, most drivers work in the factories and do
not need their cars while at work. So this surcharge or discount may encourage colleagues who stay nearby to seriously consider carpooling.
I disagree that the stimulus package should give attention to public transport. The package should be fully utilised to protect the economy and people’s jobs. Without a job, what’s the use of public transport? Improving public transport should have already been carried out when times were good. Now, the economy should take priority.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Has anyone any consideration for the toll concessionaire, you know how much revenue it will loose. Better to have traffic congestion than see a lost of revenue of the toll operator. After all this federal gormen has a resonsibility to the toll operator.
You guys dreaming or what? This will never happen
Do you think that the CVLB will give a licence for a bus to operate for this….
Just wait for next PRU
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
yeah.. are you guys dreaming like MyBlog said…
I dare not to hope for better public transport under the BN/UMNO jungle management. Better public transport means:
- lower petrol consumption = lower Petronas revenue
- lower local car purchase = lower Proton/Perodua sales
- lower toll collection (never mind our world class Boleh Government will compensate them for losses)
Talking about environmental care??? the government care the s…. they care more about their pocket well being…
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
People,
Study Singapore’s policies. Implement those suitable in Penang. Generate funds to fund shuttle busses across the island. Monorail & tram are too expensive. Better to control car population through toll charges. With funds, subsidise shuttle busses. Introduce Park & Ride
Still need cooperation from federal government. Ain’t any…. Better grab federal govt
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
If one refers to RapidPenang bus guide there are actually two bus routes proposed across the bridge from Seberang Perai: U704 and U705. Perhaps they will be launched soon. It will be a good idea to reduce traffic jams on the bridge.
The old Kiara bus service across the bridge from Penang to Kulim was often delayed by car jams at rush hours. Bus priority lanes needed?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
10 buses every 2 minutes that is what Rapid Penang need to provide. 150 buses will be able to do the job. Since Rapid Penang going to get another 200 buses this will not be a problem. After peak hour, the buses can be deployed to some other service areas. The Penang Bridge route will be the most lucrative route for Rapid Penang. It will help Rapid Penang to grow, only fools don’t want to make monies out of Penang Bridge. This is a totally private funding initiative, not only it provide the much needed public transportation, it also create jobs opportunities.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
150 buses to replace 40000 cars, the best way to kill the toll concessionaire. Like it or not, the toll concessionaire can’t do anything about this. All you need to do is convince Rapid Penang that the Penang Bridge route will be a big cash cow for the company without extra investment.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
This is an effort to kill a bad crony and help the cronies that benefit the people.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
all i want is a fairer stimulus package, we dont need to give ideas on transport, our DAP government knows what to do, its whether they want to do it or not. A campaign should begin to protest Penang Sentral.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
even if the DAP government cant do it as it involves a lot of money and they dont have it, nevermind, try privatising it but with a very minimum corporate interest impact, make it a peoples project, where the rakyat is involve in building it, as long as the DAP practices clean politic-people-economy link politics, it would remain in power.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
the rakyat should be directly involved in what the government does.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Whatever it is – whether it is tram, buses, monorail, ferries – it requires funding. Even to conduct a study requires funding. Where is the State Govt going to get the funding ? Obviously from the Federal Govt. – which is the right of every state to obtain funding from the Fed govt under the Federal Agreement. But the Fed Govt does not honour the agreement. This is the issue. The solution is therefore to change the Fed Govt during next GE. Then funds will be available for the states and then, and only then, can we judge whether Pakatan can do the job.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
the stimulus package is for their own pocket, since the fisrt stimulus package release what happen n where is the $$$ go? nothing is done!!! money go to their pocket more n more stimulus will launch!!!!
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
All these layman talk just don’t help solve transportation woes. Its not economical to do a train across Penang Bridge UNTIL Penang itself have a train system. A dedicated bus for crossing the bridge makes a bit of sense BUT without an effective bus system and better yet a train system on the Island, it will not ease congestion especially without a dedicated lane for bus and trucks which is only doable with a 4-lane each side highway.. You would be better off instead building a dedicated pedestrian walkway for people to walk over.
Transport systems are hard. If you have not run systems like that you don’t have the appreciation for the numbers required for efficiency. That is why in most systems in the world, its subsidised. If you don’t want to subsidise it, then you need a first class government which we are incapable of doing.
Bottom line, only way to solve Penang transport woes is kick out BN from Federal Govt for at least 10-20 years to fix it…
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0